Information

NOTE: Please make sure that the Parallels Desktop version is greater ot equal to 12.1.0. For more information about Parallels Desktop 12 updates summary please visit KB 123948.

In Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac you can specify a custom password to restrict the following user actions:

• Creating a new virtual machine.
• Adding an existing virtual machine.
• Removing a virtual machine.
• Cloning a virtual machine or converting it to a template.
• Opening the Parallels Desktop Preferences dialog.

This functionality allows you to set a custom password and specify which user actions from the list above should require it. Once you apply these settings, even the local Mac administrator will not be able to perform these actions without specifying the password that you set.

To make sure that all Macs are protected with one custom password, add a corresponding parameter to the deployment configuration file (deploy.cfg).

NOTE: For the detailed instructions about deploying Parallels Desktop please refer to Parallels Desktop Business Edition Administrator's Guide (page 38).

1. Download the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy package.
2. Unarchive the downloaded file > Open the excracted directory > Right-click the Parallels Desktop Autodeploy.pkg > Show Package Contents.
3. Navigate to the Parallels folder > open deploy.cfg with any text editor > locate the Security section and add desired parameters.

Security parameters

The following set of parameters allows you set a custom password and then specify whether this password is required to perform a corresponding action in Parallels Desktop.

current_password

• Use this key if you want to disable or change the current password, or if you want to enable/disable any of the actions when the password is already set.
• When disabling the password completely, simply specify the current password and leave the new_password key (below) commented out.
• When changing the password, specify the current password here and the new password using the new_password key. You can also enable or disable any of the actions if needed.

• When enabling or disabling any of the actions without changing the password, both the current_password and the new_password keys must contain the current password.

  new_password
  

• Custom password. If no password is currently set, use this key to specify the password. If a password is currently set, see the description above.

  password_to_edit_prefs
  

• Require the password to open the Parallels Desktop Preferences dialog. If this key is not specified, the password is not required.

  password_to_create_vm
  

• Require the password to create a new virtual machine.

  password_to_add_vm
  

• Require the password to add an existing virtual machine.

  password_to_remove_vm
  

• Require the password to remove a virtual machine.

  password_to_clone_vm 
  

• Require the password to clone a virtual machine or converting it to a template.

The following set of parameters allows you to specify whether a local Mac administrator password is required to perform a corresponding action in Parallels Desktop. Please note that the parameters described above provide a higher level of security since they allow you to use a custom password.

    admin_password_to_create_vm

• Require a local Mac administrator password to create a virtual machine.

  admin_password_to_add_vm
  

• Require a local Mac administrator password to add an existing virtual machine.

  admin_password_to_remove_vm
  

• Require a local Mac administrator password to remove a virtual machine from Parallels Desktop.

  admin_password_to_clone_vm
  

• Require a local Mac administrator password to clone a virtual machine